Chair of the classics department chosen associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University New Orleans

(New Orleans)—Associate professor and chair of the classics department Connie Rodriguez, Ph.D., has been appointed interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, effective August 1, 1998, according to University President Rev. Bernard P. Knoth, S.J.

Rodriguez came to Loyola in 1988 to help save a crumbling classics program. Within one year, she developed a minor which was followed by a major that has already placed six students in graduate school. In addition to a full teaching load, Rodriguez has advised students in the classics program since 1989 and has served on numerous committees and boards on campus. For the past two years, she has co-chaired Loyola’s Women Center, helping to transform it into one of the university’s most valuable resources. In April, the Women’s Center and the School of Law joined forces to host a symposium on sexual violence which attracted top legal, feminist, and social work scholars from prestigious institutions around the country.

As associate dean, Rodriguez will be responsible for monitoring the progress of students in the College of Arts and Sciences and overseeing all aspects of the degree programs within the college. She will work with Dean Frank E. Scully, Jr., who also takes office August 1, to oversee Loyola’s largest college which is comprised of 2,000 students and 150 faculty members.

"I look forward to working with Dean Scully as he embarks on programs and projects which will further enhance the college’s reputation," Rodriguez said. "I also look forward to helping students face problems that they may encounter as they progress toward graduation and life beyond the university."

In 1996, Rodriguez chaired the University Senate, a faculty body which advises administrators on matters concerning the university. Furthermore, she has chaired the University Planning Team, the University Senate Executive Committee, and was president of the Louisiana Classical Association for two years. She is or has been a member of the University Drug Compliance Committee, Salary Oversight and Review Committee, Student Development Services Committee, the A&S Curriculum Committee, and the Institutional Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees.

As an academician, Rodriguez has published several articles within the classics field and presented several papers to regional and national professional groups. Currently, she is working on six articles.

Rodriguez obtained a doctorate and master of arts in classics from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor of arts in classics from University of Richmond in 1977.

Based on the heritage of Catholic Jesuit higher education in Louisiana since 1849, Loyola University New Orleans was chartered in 1912. Today, the university serves approximately 5,500 undergraduate and graduate students. The university is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.